Desperately Seeking Sessmom
by paynesgrey
Summary: Ryouji, the son of Ryoukotssei, is searching desperately for his mother, and he thinks that the Lady of the West, Sesshoumaru's mother, is that person. It just goes to show that even the nastiest, most powerful demons can have the stupidest sons.


**AN: Spoilers from chapter 471 and "Sessmom" is a fanon term used a lot because Sesshoumaru's mother was never given a name.**

**Thank you to amorra7 for the beta job. And folks, try not to take this fic too seriously, m'kay?**

* * *

Desperately Seeking Sessmom

Ryouji was not a very bright dragon. His peers had always pointed out that even though Ryouji was indeed a full-blood demon, he was not a full-blooded _dragon_. Many had blamed his mixed blood for his unusually high amounts of dimwittedness.

Thusly, Ryouji was quite introverted, a social pariah from his clan, who grew up sheltered under his grandmother's care his whole life. To put it simply, Ryouji didn't get out much. His parents were both dead, and even though his father, the great Ryoukotssei, was revered, the origin of his mother still remained a mystery.

And the day that young Ryouji had braved leaving his grandmother's cave to play with the other dragon children, someone implanted an idea in his head that his mother was a dog.

"You big stupid-head!"

"And your mother was a stupid-head too!"

"Yeah, your mother was a _dog_, half-breed!"

Yes, dragon children were not so nice, and being told your parents were dogs was actually insulting. They taunted him and pushed Ryouji into the mud, stomping on him with their scaly feet.

Ryouji's skin was tough though, and he could take a good beating. He didn't seem to care that the other children were bashing him because his mind was full of hopeful thoughts.

"My mother _was_ a dog!" It was unclear why he suddenly believed an insult to be legit, but his only evidence was that his father had some history with the dog demon clan before his death, particularly the Daiyoukai Touga and his First wife, the Lady of the West.

His Oobaa had told him a great deal of stories about how his father was an ally of the dog demon clan at one time, but then something came between them and they soon became enemies. That 'something' had always been an elusive detail, but for once in his life, Ryouji's dimly lighted brain began to surmise that maybe – _just_ maybe that 'something' was probably the Lady of the West.

"Oh I'm sure your father had romped with that one," his Oobaa said waving her talons listlessly. Ryouji had come home – rather limped home – the very moment the children got tired of beating him to tell his grandmother his theory. "You see, my boy, love was quite free back then. There was no such thing as marital bliss …" She paused. "… Or marital anything for that matter."

Ryouji's golden eyes widened and he bounced at the idea that his mother could still be alive! But then his Oobaa killed the feeling and waggled her gnarled digit at him chidingly. "Now that doesn't mean she is your mother, so don't get your hopes up." His Oobaa yawned audibly. "Your father romped with a lot of females in that day. Tch. What a man whore, he was."

And before Ryouji could debate his father's pristine honor, the old woman had snored to sleep. Unfortunately, none of her great advice had sunk in.

"The Lady of the West…" He sauntered out his cave in the highest part of the mountains and then gazed at the night sky. "You're out there somewhere, aren't you?" He sighed as an autonomous pattern of clouds glided over the moonlight.

If this was true – if there could be _any_ possibility that his mother was still alive, he was going to take that chance to find her or he would regret it forever.

His eyes brightened with perseverance, and then Ryouji ran back into his home and started gathering his things. His Oobaa had woken up with a start to see her grandson rummaging around. She yawned and then snarled at him, "What's going on? What are you doing? Keep the noise down!"

"Oobaa!" He looked at her with felicity, and his flawless white skin reddened with anticipation. "I have a wonderful idea! I'm going to find my mother!"

His grandmother was silent and she gave him a disapproving look. After a pregnant pause, she backhanded him, which echoed throughout their cave.

"Idiot, you can't go searching for her yet!"

"Why not?" Snot began to wet his nostrils and tears ebbed on the corners of his eyes. "But Oobaa …"

She rolled her eyes as he started to suck up the phlegm that began to form in his throat. "Listen here. You can't leave this mountain as a dragon. The human population is growing and there are more of them around. If they see a dragon, like you for example, they'll try to kill you."

Ryouji puffed up his chest and sniffled one last time, struggling to give her a hardy look. "They can't kill me; I'm the great Ryoukottsei's son!"

His grandmother sighed and told him point blank, "You're a wimp, Ryouji, and the humans have lot of weapons and scary mikos that will hunt you down." She shook her head and said finally, "You're not ready."

"But … but …" he whined, his shrill voice piercing her ears. "_When_ will I be ready?"

"You haven't mastered the human form yet, my boy. Once you master that you can disguise yourself among the humans and look for your mother without problems."

"But that's _hard_," he continued to whine. He then pouted childishly. "That'll take years."

She whacked him again, and this time he lost his balance and wobbled into the cave wall. Her eyes were red with fury now. "If the Lady of the West is really your mother do you think she wants a whiny ass for a son?"

His bottom lip quivered, and his eyes glared at the floor in shame. "No…"

"Well, alright then," she replied eyeing him. "After I sleep we'll practice your human form. But I'm not going to be easy on you, okay?"

"Yes, Oobaa," he conceded. His eyes traveled anxiously to her gaze and then back to the floor. "Oobaa?"

"Yes?"

"I love you, Oobaa!" he proclaimed with vigor, his sulking mood completely changing instantly to happiness. His Oobaa rolled her eyes again.

"Ugh, please…" she mumbled and gruffly went back to bed.

---

It took only about seven years or so for Ryouji to learn how to transform his dragon form into a human.

Yes, Ryouji was_ that _slow, and as he grew to understand the transforming basics, he matured as a dragon, which reflected on how his human form had appeared as well.

"I think you finally have it, boy!" His grandmother eyed him approvingly as he finally mastered the human form without having to throw up. She grinned with a contagious smile.

Ryouji bounced and twirled around as he inspected his stable human form. "Oobaa, I did it! I can control it now! Oh, this body feels wonderful!" He inspected his hands and moved the muscles in his fingers. He gave his grandma a 'thumbs' up. "Look, I have thumbs now!"

"Yes, yes!" She waved her hand listlessly. She sauntered over to him in her human form and inspected him closely. She rubbed her chin and scrutinized her grandson to make sure all the body parts were in place. Deep golden eyes looked down at her quizzically.

"So, am I done then?" He began to twirl a tendril of his light blue hair on his fingers. His grandmother met his gaze and gave him a hard stare.

"If you're ready, you can go now, Ryouji."

"Yes!" He celebrated, and ran into the cave again to get a few things to be on his way. He came to the edge of the mountain and looked to the sky. Ryouji looked down to the bottom of the mountain and was grateful that his grandmother had taught him how to fly in this form. It would surely be easier to track the Lady of the West since she already lived in the sky. For now, he was just going down to the human villages to ask for some clues.

He sighed, and anticipation filled within his body. He was definitely ready to meet his mother now.

Turning around, he gave his Oobaa one last look. "I'm going now, Oobaa."

She gave him a placid stare. "Uh, huh…"

"Are you proud of me, Oobaa?" His eyes lit up and he watched her unchanging face.

She sighed and snorted. "I guess so…"

And that was enough for him. So he took off and began his journey.

---

Ryouji was not only a dumb dragon, but he was also an unlucky dragon. His first encounter with humans did not bode well for him.

He had run into human bandits, who stole everything from him except his clothes. They were going to steal them too, but he could actually run pretty fast despite his poor fighting skills.

He hated it, but he was reluctant to transform and fight them. His Oobaa gave him strict instructions not to transform around a human – _unless he really had to_ – or his cover would be blown, and he'd have to give up looking for his mother. He also was a horrible fighter in his human form, and he could never control the fire that spit out from his mouth. (Plus, it would almost burn his human lips clean off, and it would always send him reeling into a fit of tears.)

So Ryouji opted to play it safe, and he decided he wouldn't harm any humans or try to fight with them _unless_ he was really sure they could provide vital information on his mother – and that was the only thing he was concerned about. He was determined to look for her for as long as he lived, even if his luck was bad.

Only when he encountered another group of people did his luck seem to improve. This group astonished Ryouji because they were walking along the country roads with demons in their group. Two of the demons had human forms and one was a small fire neko youkai who didn't have the capability of looking like a human.

In fact, after much more observation as he came upon them, he realized that one of them was actually a hanyou.

And there was something about this hanyou …

"Excuse me!" He ran up from behind them and tried to control his form as he ran. He was running out of breath quickly, and the group seemed too preoccupied to notice his presence.

"I sense a demon nearby," the hanyou had said, sniffing the air and darting his head around suspiciously.

"Me too," said the strange human girl standing next to him. She had the weirdest attire for a human female, of nothing Ryouji had ever seen.

"Be on your guard everyone!" the houshi said, and they looked around the countryside with intensity. They didn't look behind them, however.

"Excuse ME!" Ryouji bellowed, and finally the group turned around.

By the time he ran up to him, he was panting – still having difficulty managing his human form. His blue hair peaking out from underneath his cloak immediately informed the group of his heritage.

"Well, there's your demon," the demon slayer said blandly. When he stood up and caught his breath, the demon slayer gasped when she looked into his face. "Are you a dragon youkai?"

"Dragon?" the hanyou's hand immediately grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Put the sword away, Inuyasha," the strange girl chided. Inuyasha had given her a contemptuous look as she silenced him with a defending hand.

The girl came up to him with a bright warm smile and said, "My name is Kagome. How can we help you?"

Ryouji was taken aback by Kagome's kindness. After all, the first humans he ever encountered had robbed him.

"Um…I was wondering, since you seem like an odd group, that maybe you could help me," Ryouji screeched, looking shyly away from Kagome's gaze and then turning pale.

"Odd group?" said the fox demon sitting on the hanyou's shoulder. "Why are we so odd?"

"Well, you see, you're humans and demons traveling together," Ryouji pointed out. He turned to Inuyasha. "And you, you're a hanyou with dog ears."

"So?" Inuyasha puffed up his chest and stepped up to Ryouji ready for a fight. Ryouji slunk back in fear.

"Inuyasha, stop that! Can't you see you're scaring him?"

"But he's a dragon youkai," Inuyasha retorted. "Did you forget the last dragon youkai we fought?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. But this dragon is not Ryoukotssei, now is he?"

"Hey, that's my father!" Ryouji exclaimed, and Inuyasha quickly drew his sword. Inuyasha pointed it at him, only to see Ryouji cowering in fear even more. "You…you fought my father? Are you…are you Touga-dono?"

"That's _my_ father's name and how do you know him?" Inuyasha had grabbed him by the cuff of his cloak.

"I … I'm…" Ryouji swallowed hard, and his eyes began to water under Inuyasha's stare. 'Be strong, Ryouji. Remember that your mother doesn't want a weakling for a son.' And then Ryouji puffed his chest as best he could and stared Inuyasha straight in the eyes. "My name is Ryouji, and I'm looking for his wife, the Lady of the West. Is she your mother?" Ryouji cocked his head at him and then began to have doubts. "Wait, you can't be her son. You have _human _blood in you… But Touga-dono was your father?"

"The Lady of the West is not my mother." Inuyasha huffed, throwing Ryouji down on the ground. He glared at him harshly. "But yes, he was my father."

Ryouji's eyes lit up, as he finally understood. "Ah, so you are a bastard son!" The monk and fox youkai behind him immediately burst into laughter as Inuyasha flushed in anger.

"Hey, what's you're problem, asshole? What's your connection to my family?"

Ryouji had recoiled into fear again at that point, continually intimidated by Inuyasha's displeased looks. Finally he said in desperation, "Please, Inuyasha-dono, (Kagome and Sango seemed stunned that anyone would address Inuyasha so formally) I need to find the Lady of the West. It's the only thing that bears importance in my life. If you know anything …" Ryouji crawled to Inuyasha's feet and began to beg. "Please, tell me where she is. I will be in your debt."

Inuyasha was stunned, both by the begging and the formal request. Finally, he scoffed, crossed his arms, and sneered at the sky. The others in his group had noticed that Inuyasha wasn't about to honor Ryouji's request.

"I haven't seen that crazy broad in years. My guess is she's flying around the skies causing hurricanes or pulling pranks on foreigners." He turned his gaze to Ryouji and then said with a scowl, "I certainly don't want to see her either. Every time she comes around, she brings trouble – and as in trouble, I mean her asshole son."

"Inuyasha," Kagome chimed in, turning to him flabbergasted. "I didn't know you knew Sesshoumaru's mother."

"Feh," he snorted. "I wish I didn't. She's nosy, eccentric, and always coming around when you least want her to." Inuyasha's expression softened and he got a far-away look in his eyes. "She befriended my mother once, but came to her aid too late. That's… kind of how she is, coming in at the last minute and barely doing much good." Then his eyes filled with anger again, and he looked at Ryouji with contempt. "Listen, the only advice I'll give you is to look for her son, Sesshoumaru. I'm sure he would know where she is more than I would."

Ryouji's eyes lit up and he jumped up from the ground. "Oh, thank you! Do you know where I might find Sesshoumaru-dono?"

"Uh, actually, we'd like to know that as well," said the monk.

"No, we wouldn't!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome chided, and he recoiled back at her tone. Ryouji found his instant submission to her interesting. He arched an eyebrow.

"Well, we really aren't. I don't care if he's got some upgraded sword that took a chunk out of Naraku. As far as I'm concerned, I can defeat Naraku with only Tessaiga," Inuyasha proclaimed defensively. His companions rolled their eyes, and Inuyasha pouted adding, "I don't need him at all."

"What a child," the slayer had pointed out, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Listen, you!" He pointed a clawed finger at his entire group. "I don't want to find that arrogant jerk, and I certainly don't want to comb the western skies for some crazy woman. So let's move on from this nut-job here and then go on our merry way to find Naraku! Everyone okay with that?" His friends were too stunned to respond. He snarled with finality, "Good." And then he turned around and stomped off toward the direction they had been going before.

"Inuyasha-dono wait!" Ryouji called after him, but Inuyasha didn't turn back. "You said that the Lady of the West lives in the clouds, so you must know exactly where her palace is!"

Inuyasha turned around and huffed, "Well, of course I do…"

Suddenly, a strong wind picked up, and Ryouji transformed, stunning the entire group and throwing Inuyasha backward onto the ground.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What the hell are you doing, you crazy bastard?"

Ryouji was too excited and determined to give into his fears any longer, and with the elation of discovering that Inuyasha knew where his mother was, he suddenly got the courage to move on the group offensively. If he had to, he would force Inuyasha to aid him. "If you know where she is but refuse to help me, I have no choice but to make you!" Ryouji responded, and he looked down at Inuyasha in his dragon form with apologetic eyes. Even though he really didn't want to hurt him, Ryouji couldn't think of any other way to meet his mother as quickly as he could. Inuyasha drew his sword, but not soon enough to save Kagome from Ryouji's large grasp.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, and his other companions had been thrown back so far from Ryouji's transformations they were out of reach to help Inuyasha fight. They began running back to the spot, but Ryouji was already taking flight.

"If you want this human girl back, you'll help guide me to the Western skies!" Ryouji told him, and he noticed that putting Kagome in danger was making Inuyasha more responsive to his demands.

"You'll put Kagome down now or I'll slice you to bits!" Tessaiga could probably do it too, but as long as Ryouji captured Kagome, Inuyasha couldn't really make any offensive moves.

"You'll take me to the Lady of the West's castle?" Ryouji asked, thrilled Inuyasha was going to help him.

"Yes, just don't hurt Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled among Ryouji's torrent winds. The dragon smiled and offered Inuyasha his tail.

"Grab on, Inuyasha-dono."

"What the hell? Why do I have to ride on your _tail_?" Inuyasha didn't think Ryouji was that smart, but Ryouji was desperate, and little did Inuyasha know, Ryouji worked better under desperation. And when this desperation concerned his long lost mother, he would use as much of his 'intelligence' as he was capable of.

"I have to make sure you'll truly help me." Ryouji gave Inuyasha a pleading look. "C'mon."

Inuyasha nodded, sheathing his sword and grabbing onto Ryouji's tail. Within moments, Inuyasha felt Ryouji lift him into the cold sky.

---

Shivering, Inuyasha had barely grasped onto Ryouji's tail when he heard the dragon and Kagome chatting like old friends just ahead of him. Inuyasha groaned audibly, getting Ryouji's attention and causing him to call back to him.

"Inuyasha-dono, are you alright? I know you have human blood in you, so are you too cold back there?" Ryouji asked concerned, which only seemed to make Inuyasha even angrier.

He barely held onto Ryouji's fluffy tail when Inuyasha shook his fist at him. "You! You bastard, when we land I'm going to skin you alive! And quit calling me that 'dono' crap! Damn it, I'll pound your sorry ass into the ground! How dare you kidnap Kagome just so you can find Sesshoumaru's tramp mother!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted at him. "Stop it, please." Kagome noticed that as Inuyasha continued to yell at him, Ryouji's eyes welled up with tears. "You've gone too far. Really it's all right! We're just going to help him, and he'll take us back down."

"That's right, Kagome-sama. I'm sorry for troubling you. I just wanted to see the Lady of the West so badly. It's very important that I meet her, and I don't want her to dislike me." Ryouji sniffled, and Kagome stroked his fine soft fur.

"There, there. It'll be all right. I'm sure the Lady of the West is…" Kagome tried to get the image of a female Sesshoumaru out of her mind, and then slapped on a fake smile. "… I bet she's really a nice lady."

"Really? Do you think so?" Ryouji seemed to be more soothed as Kagome talked to him and stroked his fur.

"Of course," Kagome said giving him a toothy grin.

"Dammit, woman! Stop coddling him! I'm sick of you trying to help everyone all the time! I don't care if you've made friends with him; I'm still going to pound him! EEEYAAH!" Inuyasha screamed at them and then as he almost lost his balance, he gripped tightly onto Ryouji's fur again and continued to swear.

From the sad expression Ryouji gave Inuyasha, Kagome knew the dragon really did not wish to harm them, and that maybe he even expected Inuyasha to be his friend.

"Don't worry about Inuyasha, Ryouji-san," Kagome said, trying to ease the situation. "He's like that to all his friends, even me." Then, as Ryouji was about to respond to her, Kagome turned her head as she noticed something solid floating in the clouds.

"Look! I see something!" Kagome pointed, and quickly Ryouji turned his gaze to face it.

"I can see it through the clouds," Ryouji exclaimed as he flew closer to it. "It's a castle."

"That has to be her castle!" Inuyasha added, and Kagome turned around and smiled at him.

"Well, then we're almost there. See, Inuyasha? That wasn't so bad," Kagome teased, and Inuyasha gave her a sour look.

Ryouji bounced in delight as the prospect of meeting his mother came closer and closer. Kagome and Inuyasha felt the waves of his jubilation as his flight began to swing around in a more dizzying effect.

Kagome's head began to spin, and she clung to him saying weakly, "Ryouji-san, please stop bouncing or I'm going to puke."

But Ryouji didn't seem to hear her as he became lost in his own little world. Excitedly, he sped up his flight and made a beeline for the castle. His occupants, however, seemed less than enthused as they groaned, fighting back the nausea from the bumpy flight.

--

Sesshoumaru's mother had made a compassionate decision; aided by the weight of Sesshoumaru's sadness, she gently had placed the meidou-seki over Rin's lifeless body. The enchanted jewel had started to glow, and Sesshoumaru's precious ward had started to breathe and wake up again.

Sesshoumaru seemed relieved, and he placed a comforting hand on the waking child, and his face began to glow with a warm expression. His mother seemed pleased as well, not at all surprised at the paternal energy that had stirred within her son.

"He's like his father in more ways than he cares to notice," she said softly under her breath, and Sesshoumaru's tiny green servant seemed oddly serene from the scene as well. Then she turned to the boy that was with them, and looked at him closely.

She said to him, "Boy, you and that girl are alike. You can not be saved by my son's sword."

The boy named Kohaku gave her a knowing, pensive expression and bowed his head, "Yes, I will remember that." And he bowed out and traveled behind his companions once again.

However, as they were about to leave the Western palace, a curious object coming toward them from the sky interrupted their departure. Sesshoumaru stopped, and his companions waited behind him as he scrutinized the sky.

"There appears to be something coming this way," his retainer Jaken had said, and Sesshoumaru's silence seemed to affirm Jaken's observation.

"It is a demon coming to the castle," Sesshoumaru's mother had said, her keen eyes barely squinting to read out the visitor. As soon as she said so, Sesshoumaru's hand twitched to draw his sword.

"Inuyasha is riding on the tail of that demon, and his human wench is with them too," Sesshoumaru commented, and then he got an annoyed look on his face.

"Why would Inuyasha be coming to the castle?" Kohaku asked curiously.

"Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru's mother quipped curiously, and she got a wicked smirk on her face. "That princess's spawn is coming to visit _me_?"

"Don't sound so flattered, Mother," Sesshoumaru snipped at her, and in return she let out a light chuckle.

"My, my, I can hear the whelp swearing from here. It appears it is a dragon who is flying them, and it seems to be of the same clan as the enemy of your father."

"Ryoukotssei?" Sesshoumaru snarled within his teeth, and his sword was swiftly drawn. A sudden gust of wind followed by the foulest screeching noise, violated Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears.

"Lady of the West-saaaaaaaammmmmAAAAAA!" The dragon was yelling for Sesshoumaru's mother, who merely stood before her throne looking to the commotion with an amused expression on her face.

And when the trio landed, the dragon quickly transformed into a delicate looking human man, who ran to Sesshoumaru's mother and prostrated himself before her presence.

Inuyasha and Kagome fell hard on their butts after Ryouji's transformation, and were dazed and out of sorts as Ryouji rushed away from them.

"Lady of the West-sama, please… I am Ryouji, son of Ryoukotssei, and I have been looking for you all my life. Please grace me with the honor of your name."

Sesshoumaru's mother stared down silently at the dragon youkai who bowed before her. She inspected him closely, her eyes traveling over his delicate snow-white skin, his lean form, and his silvery light blue hair. She clucked her tongue in approval and was indeed intrigued by this visitor, as was everyone else.

"My name? Hrmm…" She thought for a second and rubbed her chin playfully. "I wonder what I called myself the last time someone asked me?"

"Mother…" Sesshoumaru grunted in annoyance.

"Oh, do be quiet, Sesshoumaru, and let me have my fun." And after chiding her son, she looked down at Ryouji and smiled. She placed a hand on his face and then cupped his chin, bringing his face up to hers. "I suppose you may call me Hiyako." And Sesshoumaru was silent, but gave her an exasperated look. He knew, and so did everyone else there, that she had just made up that name on the spot.

Ryouji looked up at her with adoration and awe shining in his eyes. He nodded weakly, and then began to stare at her with admiration. "Yes, Hiyako-sama. I am truly honored beyond words and am unsure what I can say to you."

Hiyako giggled, and her stoic reserve was lost as her face blushed slightly. Behind Ryouji, her son glared at their interaction, Inuyasha rolled his eyes, and everyone else looked on in bewilderment.

"Oh, my, you dragons have always been so …" She paused as if she trying to find just the right word, "charming. Now, Ryouji-kun," she said in a sweet voice. "Why is it that you've visited me today?"

Tears welled up in the dragon's eyes, and he appeared to be just glowing with happiness. "I am sorry to intrude, but Hiyako-sama, I have been searching for you my whole life!"

Everyone save Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru still seemed awed, and they all watched the scene in interest as Ryouji continued.

"Ah… and is there a reason why you have searched for me, my little dragon?" she inquired, almost cooing at him. The tone of her voice seemed to make Ryouji blush even more from his excitement.

"Well, Hiyako-sama, while talking to my Oobaa about my father, I was hoping… no… I was certain that you are my mother!"

Now this time, Inuyasha gasped, and Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in one of their rare moments of displaying any emotion. Kagome and the others seemed frozen in their spots and glued to the scene, as some great drama was about to unfold.

Sesshoumaru's mother made no expression at first as she continued to look at Ryouji. He had such hope in his eyes; she was almost hesitant to sigh. But finally she exhaled heavily, and put a gentle hand on his head. "I am sorry, Ryouji-kun, but I cannot be your mother. I have only given birth to one child in my whole life, and he is Sesshoumaru, the youkai behind you."

Her news came crashing down on him, and his shoulders slumped in disappointment. His lip quivered, and soon he began to sniffle. Ryouji was crushed, and he brought an arm over his wet nose and made a sloppy snort. "But… but… my Oobaa said you romped with him, and I am a mixed breed with silvery hair, and you are silver dogs. I thought surely…" Ryouji paused and then began to weep. He sucked in breath and phlegm, and then cocked his head curiously at her. "You don't have a sister, do you?"

Hiyako burst into laughter and patted his shoulder. "Oh, Ryouji! I'm sorry but I know for a fact, my dear, that you don't have any of our dog clan blood in you," she told him, and Ryouji seemed defeated again. And then Hiyako got a gleam in her eye, and said, "However, I do know you were conceived by a dog demon, just not of our tribe."

Small hope began to return to Ryouji's face and he looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Do you… do you know who my mother is?"

She looked at him point blankly and then nodded. "Yes. She was the one who betrayed us."

Ryouji swallowed hard as Sesshoumaru's mother looked at him so seriously but still kept her wickedly amused smile. Then she closed her eyes, and then looked away from him. She nodded to herself, as if remembering the past so clearly.

"Yes, it was at least three or four centuries ago when your mother betrayed our clan. She was of the dog clan from the eastern part of China, and they were allies to my husband's father before him. They were family friends, and we respected each other because of our long-term ties. We had been peaceful, and we respected each other's lands and helped out each other in wars.

"It's true that your father and I did have some sort of affair. I will tell you this now that my husband used your father's lust for me, to trick him, and the three of us became false friends. Your father was also trying to double cross us, and in the meantime steal me away from my husband.

"So it was a fake alliance, and many words were exchanged and we went to alliance meetings wearing a smile on the outside but ready to draw our blades at first hostile glance. Your mother, the royal princess of the Chinese silver dog clan, Xia'ong Mei, had fallen in love with your father and chose to betray us despite all the peaceful years our families had together." Hiyako paused and then cocked her head at Ryouji with regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry but after Xia'ong Mei gave birth to you, your father gave you to your grandmother and the two of them went off to war with us. I'm afraid after your mother's pregnancy she was weakened and did not survive the war."

Ryouji's lip quivered at the information presented; he seemed stunned by the news. "So my grandmother didn't know about my mother because …"

"She couldn't have known who your mother was. She never met any of your father's women, and he never introduced them," Hiyako explained.

"Oh," Ryouji responded sadly, and he really didn't know what else to say. Finally, he said with politeness, "Thank you, Hiyako-sama, for telling me this – it is the one thing I've wanted to know all of my life."

Everyone looked onto Ryouji with sympathy, and he continued to bow his head to the ground. He looked up to Hiyako again and then his mood seemed to soften, almost as if he was starting to accept the news about his mother. He asked her, "Please, let me know, was my mother a brave and strong dog youkai?"

"She was," Hiyako replied nodding. "And before she betrayed us, she and I were both very close, like sisters." She paused again and then patted Ryouji's head. "And if you'd like to remember your mother fondly, you should remember that she died for love. She loved your father very much…" Sesshoumaru's mother made a strange face and then smirked. "She loved him despite the fact that he was a downright rascal."

Ryouji smiled, and he felt comfort in Hiyako's tone. He bowed to the ground in front of her feet again, and said repeatedly, "Oh thank you! Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. If there's anything I can do to repay your kindness, milady, please, I will do anything you ask of me!"

Sesshoumaru's mother seemed electrified by this, and she clasped her hands together and bounced girlishly and said, "Oh, my! You just reminded me. Before my stupid son showed up with his humans and the little youkai, I was just going to make a small trip to China!"

"Huh?" Ryouji said, confused to where this was going.

"Why yes, I was going to do a bit of shopping, cause a small monsoon off the shore, the usual," she said waving her hands listlessly in the air. It was Sesshoumaru's turn to roll his eyes now. Clearly she had done this many times before.

"But since you asked, I could really use someone to help me carry my things. Would you like to be my faithful servant, Ryouji-kun?"

"Oh, would I! Oh, boy… wow," he cried in elation and bounced around her like a small puppy. "Oh, milady I would be so honored to be your servant. Oh, I would do anything you asked. Are you really asking me? You're not joking?"

"Pff! Of course not, little youkai!" Hiyako waved a hand at him, and then she suddenly turned around and put her arms around him for a squeeze.

"I always wanted a dragon!" she exclaimed as she smiled happily, and Ryouji blushed three shades of red. She pulled back from the embrace and then tugged on his arm, and said, "Come on then, let's go. I want to get there before morning." She chuckled to herself. "It's more fun when people can't see the monsoon in the dark." And then Ryouji walked dutifully behind her, hanging on her every word.

"You can let yourself out, Sesshoumaru," she said with her back to him. She continued to walk ahead without looking back. She then said, "Oh, Inuyasha, it's always good seeing you as well. It's good to know that you are still very much like your father."

Inuyasha said nothing and just glared at them as Sesshoumaru and his troupe began to leave. Kagome was still enamored from the dramatic scene that unfurled before them just moments ago, and she watched Sesshoumaru's mother and Ryouji begin to transform and take off to the western skies.

Inuyasha and Kagome stood in silence for a moment, but then when Inuyasha realized something was off, he started yelling and cursing again, his anger now toward his brother.

"Hey, you bastard! Don't leave us here!" Inuyasha shook a fist at him. He grabbed Kagome and began tugging her to follow after Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru didn't look back at him, and instead he proceeded to chide him as he continued to walk. "My, my, it looks like you have no way of returning to the surface, dear brother. I suppose I'll have to defeat Naraku on my own."

"Hey! HEY! Hey, you flying mutt! Take us back! You know you need Tessaiga and me! You can't leave us here!" Inuyasha's screams fell on deaf ears, and Sesshoumaru smirked as he began to transform with Rin, Kohaku and Jaken hanging on securely to his back. Inuyasha and Kagome ran after them, but came to the edge of the floating castle as they had flown away.

Inuyasha shouted, threw a fit, and stomped around trying to get Sesshoumaru to come back. Sesshoumaru ignored him, and then silently smirked to himself as he had 'defeated' his brother once again. Of course, he didn't care if he left his brother and the wench up there – it would finally give him some peace away from their meddling. Besides, he was sure Kohaku would tell his sister where Inuyasha and the girl were once he saw her.

His sister had a flying cat, after all. So it was no skin off his back.

Rin's voice interrupted his satisfied silence, and she asked him, "Sesshoumaru-sama, are Inuyasha-san and Kagome-san really going to be okay? Can he fly back down to the ground just like you can?"

Sesshoumaru held back another uncharacteristic smile, put on his stoic mask and said to her rather nonchalantly, "Of course, Rin; Inuyasha can fly too."

And despite the shouting still in the background, Rin seemed satisfied enough with his answer.

END


End file.
